Sailthru and Direct Mail: 5 Postcards You Should Definitely Send

Have you set up our Sailthru direct mail integration yet? If you’re using Inkit and Sailthru, and you’ve got 30 seconds, go ahead and connect them now. Once you sync Inkit and Sailthru, postcard marketing is so easy—and incredibly effective. (And if you aren’t using Inkit yet, click here to get started for free).When you link Inkit to your Sailthru account, you can put the hard data and strategic targeting of Smart Lists behind your direct mail campaigns. You’ll be able to access your Sailthru lists inside our postcard builder, where you can easily attach the lists to mailers. With Sailthru powering postcards, all it takes is the click of a button to make your direct mail as smart as everything you’re doing online.Wondering what kinds of postcards to send with Sailthru? The options are nearly endless. Head over to Sailthru’s blog now to learn about three of our favorite campaigns. Or, read on for some Sailthru postcard ideas.

5 Postcards to Send With the Sailthru Direct Mail Integration

Here are five postcard ideas to help you start thinking about how to integrate direct mail into Sailthru campaigns.

1. The Direct Mail vs. Email Test Postcard

If you’re running marketing campaigns in Sailthru, you’re probably doing a lot of email automation. While there are major benefits to email automation, there are also shortfalls—such as decreasing open and click-through rates in crowded inboxes. And if you’re struggling with email engagement (and who isn’t?), it may be time to experiment with a better performing channel like direct mail. However, because of the cost involved in direct mail campaigns, you should run a test or two before shifting any promotions from inbox to mailbox.Take a cue from NatureBox. Pulling a list from Sailthru for its postcard, the company repurposed an email promotion to test email vs. direct mail.Measuring against a holdout group, customers who received the direct mail had a 35% lift in orders and a 60% lift in revenue per customer, proving that sometimes the problem is the medium.

2. The Split-Test Postcard

When using Sailthru for postcard mailings, you can (and should) test much more than just direct mail as a channel. Done well, postcards are measurable and testable, just like email. A/B postcard testing may take a bit more planning than email, but it will be worth it as you continue to refine messages and targeting for this high-response channel. (Did you know direct mail gets response rates 10 to 30 times higher than all digital channels combined, according to the Direct Marketing Association?) Click here for more on postcard A/B tests.

3. The Top of Funnel Postcard

Because of the generally high response rates of direct mail, it is one of the best channels for top of the funnel marketing. Sailthru users can take an inbound approach with direct mail, funneling prospects online where they can become more strategic in their targeting and data capturing. For example, you might send an informational teaser postcard that directs prospects to a landing page for a free guide or tutorial. There, leads will leave their email addresses. This postcard accomplishes two things.

It delivers free value in a high impact format to consumers who are unaware of your brand, lending credibility.

It captures email addresses and shifts engagement online, where you can provide lead nurturing in less expensive channels. (Of course, you would be wise to create Smart Lists and direct mail workflows for leads who prove difficult to target online).

4. The Loyalty Postcard

NatureBox’s direct mail test campaign mentioned above is highly effective for several reasons, and one of them is simply that it is a loyalty postcard. You probably send most of your loyalty communications through email, as NatureBox did, but when you really want to get someone’s attention a postcard is the way to go.This is because direct mail, by nature, is a high impact form of communication. It is tangible. It elicits an emotional response. It has staying power. When you have a message about free credit or a gift certificate soon expiring, consider sending it via Sailthru postcard. You just may delight a customer who isn’t even opening your emails.

5. The Winback Postcard

Even if you’re doing everything right, every online retailer faces unsubscribes and engagement issues. In fact, Email Monks says you will lose 25 percent of your email list this year (and every year). How can you win back a customer if they’ve unsubscribed from your emails? Move customers to a direct mail Smart List as soon as they unsubscribe from your emails, ideally creating several segments based on events that led to the action and other demographic and behavioral data.Then, pull up your target list in Inkit’s postcard builder to mail your strongest winback offer. Check out Sailthru’s winback tips here and take a look at these winback postcard examples to inspire your campaign.These are just a few examples of what is possible when Sailthru powers direct mail. Do you have any other ideas for integrating direct mail into your Sailthru strategies? Let us know in the comments (or just get started working on the campaigns!)